press releases 2008

U.S. Chargé d’Affaires a. i. Michele J. Sison Celebrates the Human Rights Law Clinic

May 2, 2008

U. S. Chargé d’Affaires, a. i. Michele J. Sison, along with Monsignor Joseph Merhej, President of La Sagesse University, Dr. Maroun Boustany, Dean of the Law Faculty, and Aline Matta, the American Bar Association (ABA) Program Director, presented certificates to the law students who completed a year-long training program in human rights law.  This Human Rights Law Clinic is the first of its kind in Lebanon.

In partnership with the ABA, the U.S. Government is funding the clinic with a $850,000 grant over a twenty-month period.  Students in their last year of law school worked on fourteen different projects with local and international human rights organizations to support the rights of children, women, and refugees, and to understand the necessary detailed casework involved in human rights law. 

In her remarks, the Chargé told the students how pleased she was that La Sagesse University was working in partnership with the ABA.  She continued by saying, “the importance of human rights law for those who cannot speak for themselves, those who do not have power, cannot be underestimated.  Rule of law means that we all have access to the legal system.”

The U.S. Government works in partnership with non-governmental organizations, educational institutions, and the Lebanese judiciary to enhance the legal system in Lebanon.  With the funds it provides, the U. S. Government is showing its strong support for Lebanon and its citizens.